At the age of eight, I remember sitting at the doctor's for a blood test. Although this particular technician was trying to divert my attention through conversation, he, unfortunately, picked the wrong topic , sports, since at the time, I knew nothing about it.

"Do you like the Red Sox?" he asked me. My answer was an emphatic no; I guess the Sox were pretty unsuccessful at the time. "What about the Celtics?" "They're okay," was my grudging response.

My respect for the Celtics reflected their image at the time. The team, armed with young veterans like Larry Bird, Robert Parish, and Dennis Johnson, was nearly unbeatable. Boston loved its basketball team. The Garden, unlike Fenway Park, was always sold out, and the Celtics were The Team. So well-known and loved, in fact, that a small eight-year-old girl knew they were a good team.

This was a time when Larry Bird was undefeatable, a basketball giant on the winning parquet. Now Larry's getting old, and he's not what he used to be. He is no longer considered the best player in the NBA, although he still is ranked at the top. Soon Bird will retire, and the Celtics will be a different team. It will take a long time to find a new Larry to build a new dynasty.

Times are changing. I remember when the Red Sox' season began long before Celtics' season ended; no such delusions this year. Now, while the Boston Celtics are still a good team, only the diehard fan predicts a championship for them, and even he, deep down does not believe in his team.

My answers to the inquiring lab technician many years ago are not highly ironic. Now the Celtics are the team which I treat with ambivalence. If they win, I'm happy; if not, oh, well. The Red Sox, of course, are a different story. The Sox are now my team. Now I devour the sports section every morning and catch as much of every game as I can on the radio. If by some strange occurrence I fall asleep before the end of a game, I'm always nervous in the morning as I grope for the newspaper to see how my team fared. Yes, Mr. Lab Technician, times have changed. I'm no longer ignorant of one important part of life , sports, and the Celtics have lost my respect for another yet undeserving team.n